Holiday Hijinks, with Knitting

Actually, "hijinks" might be too strong a word choice here, but I really like the word "hijinks" so I used it. I have a list that I keep of words that I like, because I like words and I like lists, so that makes sense to me. Some random words from my list: pith, conflagration, vim and foible...but I digress.

I can tend to get a little freaked out about holidays. (If you examine that sentence, and remove the superfluous cushions, you'll see: I get freaked out about holidays.) Maybe it's the perfectionist people-pleaser in me, but whatever the cause, holidays get to me. We took a "holiday quiz" a few years ago and the kids picked Halloween as their favorite holiday because Mom doesn't get stressed about Halloween. Halloween requires virtually nothing from me and the expectation levels are healthy and I love pumpkins, so yeah, Halloween is pretty much stress-free. This was pretty enlightening to me, as I assumed that Christmas would top their Favorite Holiday list, but it turns out that Christmas tops the list for Holidays That Stress Mom Out. (Why is that even a list?)

It's true. Christmas can be one long session of nightmare workaholic perfectionist guilt: cards, gifts, shopping, movies, parties, performances, outfits, cookies, food, etc. I know this will sound very Grinch-like, but wow can we cram one more thing into that month? And as it is now mid-October all this holiday madness is only mere days away and I'm exhausted already. What's that? You, too? I knew I wasn't alone.

OK, so here's the plan: We are NOT going to panic. Once upon a time, Christmas was something we loved. Like an exciting new knitting project that over time loses its momentum, Christmas needs to be dug out of the bag under the bed and faced head on.

Remember how we purged projects and yarn in Finish For Fall? It felt good to focus and know what was worth taking the time to finish (beaded scarf we hate, NO; socks for hubby, YES). We are going to make a list, several lists if needed. Examine the holidays. What stresses you out? What should you keep? What should you never ever, under any circumstances, do again during the holiday season? And my favorite: What would a stress-free holiday look like? (It looks like Halloween, but I'm pretty sure they won't let me celebrate that in October AND December, too. It's pretty much a one-shot deal.) All of those perfect holidays we see in magazines and on Pinterest and HGTV are not going to happen for us because we are not a full-time staff of decorators, seamstresses and cooks. Unless you in fact are a staff of such, in which case, go for it.

I know that you just can't spring A Different Christmas This Year on your unsuspecting family. I've tried it and believe me, you don't want to go there. This will take strategy and preparedness and a plan. In the long run, if you are happier, more relaxed and actually able to enjoy your holiday, the family will come around, provided you first ease them into it.

Here are some tips for calming the hijinks in your holiday. They are knitting-related because that's what this blog is supposed to be about...

• Do not try to cast on a project after November 1 for giving in December. Madness.
• Do try to knit a little bit every day.  It's your hobby and it brings you pleasure. Don't neglect it till January.  Don't neglect YOU till January, either.
• Don't laugh in the face of the friend who offers to pay you to knit a sweater for their co-worker's Christmas gift. This may be your first impulse, but curb it in the spirit of the holiday. Politely but firmly thank them for their confidence in your abilities, but decline the offer. Then you can laugh, just not in their face.
• Don't be upset if you can't finish a holiday gift in time (which we all know you started before Nov. 1, right?). My sweet friend Dianne has proof that even an unfinished gift is well-loved.
• Do try to remember that you once anticipated the holiday season with excitement, not dread. Like rediscovering neglected old yarn that you loved when you bought it, find a purpose for the holiday that will make it fun again.

Christmas and other holidays are not bad, they just need dusting off and refurbishing. Underneath all of the unrealistic expectations, holidays still have some vim, they needn't turn into a conflagration of stress and accentuate all our foibles.

2008. Seems like yesterday.

The pith, the essence of it all is this:

Even if you don't have kids, the people you spend your holidays with aren't getting any younger (and neither are you, but you look marvelous, so don't let it get you down). If we can just figure out how to spend less time trying to put Martha Stewart out of a job, we will be able to find the time to tell someone they are special. And isn't that what the holiday hijinks are about after all?

SAFF Bound, Indigo To-Go

Here at KnitOasis Central, we've been hard at work preparing some lovely knitting indigo kits for sale at SAFF, The Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair.

Every year, farmers, yarn merchants, spinners, dyers, and assorted crafts people and small business owners gather to teach, learn, compete, share, mingle and more at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher, NC. Last year I made it for one day and was so impressed with the atmosphere of creativity and camaraderie. There was so much to see and do and buy.

My friend Pat Lorenz at Bird Mountain Creations invited me to be part of her booth this year (#72 in the McGough Arena) and I'm planning on having a fantastic time for the following reasons:

• Pat is a hoot and a half. When you meet her, you'll see what I mean. I will also be surrounded by her amazing creations. Art for daysssss.....
• I will get to see lots of lovely folks that I only ever see at events like this.
• I'll have the chance to show off some indigo, talk about indigo, and hopefully, sell some indigo kits!

This amazing fabric will be lining for hand-knit bag kits. I love it all so much, it's kinda hard to part with any of them!

Are you going to be at SAFF this year? If so, please come see me! No trip to any event is ever complete for me without seeing folks I know and making new friends. Heck, that also applies to going to the grocery store! Please stop by and say hello. If we've yet to meet in person, all the better. I can't wait to see you all!

I'll have two kits available: The Charleston Indigo Scarf kit (includes pattern and 500 yards of 100% cotton yarn, hand-dyed with natural indigo) and the Indigo To-Go Accessory Bag kit (includes pattern, zipper and 100% cotton yarn and fabric, both hand-dyed with natural indigo). The bag is a brand new pattern and will be available for the first time at SAFF!

100% cotton, 100% natural indigo, 100% special.

Simple Knitting Tip: Close that gap!

I was proof-reading a new pattern of mine today that will soon be published by LYDIA Yarn, (!!!) and I noticed that part of my directions for this knit-in-the-round item include the following:

"Decrease one stitch when joining—slip the last cast on stitch onto the left needle and knit it together with the first cast on stitch.  This will prevent the gap left when joining in the round."

So simple, yet so effective! For years, when joining in the round, I just joined, hoping for the best, and went back later and stitched that gap closed.  Since I was knitting a lot of hats and cowls and pairs of socks, we're talking a lot of "hoping for the best" and going back to fix it later. This in itself isn't a bad practice. My finished items looked fine and it wasn't that big of a deal to stitch the gap while I was weaving in the tail end of the yarn.

Now that I cast on an extra stitch and knit the first together with the last, however, frankly I feel pretty clever.  I like feeling clever (it's kinda rare), and I know you probably like feeling clever, too (you manage it more often than I do, I'm sure).

So here's what this looks like, this clever simple tip:

I hope this works for you as well as it has for me.

And that pattern? It is the Coosaw Cowl and it's now available from LYDIA Yarn via Ravelry.

Free Pattern Friday: Reversible Cable Wrap

Just in time for colder weather, here is my latest pattern published by Red Heart, the Reversible Cable Wrap.  This design was originally sketched out several years ago. Last year I dug out the sketch and figured out how to make it happen! It took a lot of trial and error, because I really wanted it to be knit from end to end, not from the triangle up or down. I'm not sure why this was so important, but it was and it made the cable work right as it runs along the long edge. There was math involved, people!

I hope you enjoy knitting it.  As you can see, it makes quite an impact!

This version was knit in KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Cranberry.